Imagine a safe residential street where vehicles travel at walking pace and where pedestrians using the street can share the carriageway with vehicles.
Imagine a street which is paved, and where space has been created for trees and other types of planting. Imagine a street where people can use seating, socialise or where children can play safely.
Such a street would be called a home zone. Already common in many other parts of Europe, home zones are now being promoted by national and local government in the UK. In addition to safety, health, environmental and social benefits, home zones can form a focus for community development initiatives and can help to sell houses because of the contribution that they make to residents' quality of life.
This short handbook explains how to plan and design a home zone in either an existing street or as part of a new residential area. It offers guidance for:
- residents thinking of introducing a home zone into their street;
- engineers, landscape designers or architects given the task of planning and designing a home zone scheme;
- councillors, housing and regeneration professionals interested in finding out about the potential for home zones in their area.
The handbook provides advice and illustrations drawn from many recent home zone schemes within the UK and also from some older schemes in the rest of Europe.
A video, Home Zones: The UK experience, is also available.